Holland weighing up Youth Olympics bid 17/08/2010 |
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The Netherlands is planning to bid for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
International Olympic Committee member Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange made the revelation at the weekend at the inaugural YOG, which is taking place in Singapore.
"It's something that our National Olympic Committee is looking at and it's the reason I'm here,” he said.
"We first have to wait for the Fifa [vote] for 2018 and 2022. I hope we win the [bid to host the] football World Cup but if not, this could be an interesting option."
He added that he was in Singapore to see "what the talk is about", and that the YOG was an excellent addition to the Olympic movement.
"It really lives up to expectations of sport being played at a very good level but is an event which allows the athletes to enjoy their games too," he continued.
"It's a good addition to the Olympic movement. It should not become a sub-Olympics standard of sports but maybe it can be a test-bed for new sports, new systems, new electronics, new ticketing procedures."
Netherlands NOC secretary general Gerard Dielessen confirmed his country would look to host a future Youth Olympic Games, possibly in 2018 or 2022, if it was unsuccessful in its bid to stage the football World Cup.
The Netherlands is also aiming to host the senior Olympics in 2028, 100 years after the Games were held in Amsterdam, and believes having the Youth Olympics in the lead-up would provide the perfect platform.
"We talked about it in Vancouver during the Winter Olympic Games," he said. "That is indeed the reason why we are here in Singapore – to see it all for our own eyes."
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